Movable stairway for cars.



W. M. SMITH.

MOVABLE STAIRWAY FOR CARS.

APPLICATION FILED J'AN.9,1915.

Patented Apr. 4, 1916.

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THE couunua m PLANOGRAPH'CiL, WAannvul'uN, D c

W. M. SMITH.

MOVABLE STAIRWAY FOR CARS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.9, 1915.

1,178,275. Patented Apr. 4, 1916.

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VIII/II/l/I/I/ll/Il/l/l/l/I/l/II/II/I/I/l/Il l/n I/Il/l/l/I/l/l/ll/lIIIl///////////////////////-v THE COLUMBIA PLANOORAPH 150., WASHINGTON, D. c.

WARREN M. SMITH, OF MOORES, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO TIE-IE J. Gr. BRILL COMPANY, F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYL- VANIA.

Specification of Letters Patent Patented Apr. 4:, 1916.

Application filed January 9, 1915. Serial No. 1,328.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VARR'EN M. SMITH, a citizen of the United States and a resident of Moores, county of Delaware, State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Movable Stairways for Cars, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a pivoted stairway for a double deck passenger car, which can be shifted either to the right or to the left, so as to accommodate passengers entering or leaving the car from either side thereof. r

In the accompanying drawings :Figure 1, is a side view of a passenger car illustrating my invention and showing the doors closed; Fig. 2, is a longitudinal sectional view on the line aa, Fig. 3, on the same scale as Fig. 1; Fig. 3, is an enlarged transverse sectional view on the line b?), Fig. 2; Fig. 4:, is a view illustrating a modification of the invention, and Fig. is a detached perspective view of the barrier which may be employed in connection with my improved stairway.

Referring to the drawings, 1 is the frame of a car of the center entrance and exit type, in which the central portion of the car floor is depressed to dispense with the outside steps.

2 is the lower deck and 3 is the upper deck. These two decks are connected by a permanent stairway, generally at one or both ends of the car.

4 is the depressed platform of the car and 5 and 6 are the entrance and exit doors located on each side of the .car in line with the platform.

7 is the floor of the upper deck, having an opening 8 at the center, and on each side of the opening and extending longitudinally of the car are the seats 9. The two rows of seats are arranged back to back, as shown, while the seats 10 of the lower deck are arranged face to face and along each side of the car. The platform is made, in the present instance, in three sections 11, 12 and 13. The sections 12 and 13 are pivotally connected to the section 11, and the section 11 is pivotally mounted on a longitudinal bar 14: which is mounted in suitable bearings in the frame of the car. The platform can be tilted and held in the tilted position by arms 15, or rods 16 actuated in any suitable manner so as to tilt the platform toward the doorway, which is open for the entrance or egress of passengers. This constructlon is fully set forth and claimed in an application for patent filed by me 011 the 24th day of March, 1914, under Serial No. 826,907, and issued on November 30, 1915, as Patent No. 1,161,903.

At one side of the platform is a partition 17 having doorways 18 on each side thereof which communicate with the lower deck of the car, and some distance from this partit1on I mount a standard 19 of any suitable construction and secured to the framework of the car in any suitable manner, and I pivot to this standard and to the partition 17 at 20 a stairway 21 consisting of two side members 22, combined treads 23 and risers 24. The stairway is so proportioned that, when it is in the position illustrated in the drawings, it rests against one side of the opening in the floor 7 of the upper deck and, when in this position, the side frames are below said opening but the upper combined riser and tread 25 extends over the floor 7, as shown in Fig. 3. Vhen the stairway is shifted the portion 25 becomes a riser and assumes a position against the opposite side of the opening. The lower combined tread and riser forms a step when in the position illustrated in Fig. 3 and the first riser when in the opposite position.

On the stairway is a segmental rack 26 and meshing with this rack is a segment 27 pivoted at 28. The arm 29 on the segment is connected to an arm 30 pivoted at 32. In the present instance, two links 31 are the connecting means between the arms 29 and 30. As shown in Fig. 5, there are two arms 30, one on each side of the stairway and there are two sets of links 31 connected together by rods 30% The segment 27, in the present instance, is on one side of the stairway and the arm 29 is connected to only one of the links 31, as clearly shown in Fig. 5. When the stairway is hifted from one position to another this barrier is automatically shifted. The arms 30, in the present instance, are pivoted to the curved arms 33 forming part of the floor support.

The stairway can be moved from one position to the other by hand, and, in order to lock the stairway in either position, I provide a pivoted latch 37, which, in the present instance,'is mounted on the pivot 28, and this latch has two notches, one to engage the pin 38 on the stairway and the other to engage the pin 39 on the stairway, according to the position thereof. Other means of locking the stairway in position may be employed without departing from the essential features of the invention.

In Fig. 4, I have illustrated a modification of the invention and in this instance the stairway 21* is mounted on a pivoted platform 40 carried on supports projecting through the floor of the car, and this platform has arms 41 for the pivot 20 so that when the stairway is shifted to the central position, as illustrated by dotted lines, Fig. 4, it can be turned on the vertical pivot in order to swing either to the right or to the left. In this instance 23 23 are the treads and 24, 24 are the risers. Suitable hand rails may be used secured to the framework of the car or attached to the stairway itself.

It will be noticed, upon referring to Fig. 3, that the longitudinal pivot 20 for the stairway 21 is at one side of the longitudinal center line of the car, and the treads and the risers 23, 24, are at a greater angle than usual so that, when the stairway is in the position illustrated in Fig. 3, the treads 23 are horizontal and, when the stairway is in the opposite position, the treads 24 are horizontal. This construction provides plenty of room for the feet, as it makes an undercut step. By this construction, a long inclined platform can be provided and the passengers must pass over the platform on the opposite side of the car before using the stairway. In Fig. 3, for instance, the doors 5 and 6, on the left hand side are used as the entrance and exit doors, while the doors on the opposite side are closed and the stairway is tilted toward the left hand side.

I claim 1. The combination in a double deck car, of a stairway; and a horizontal pivot for said stairway, the stairway being arranged so that it can be turned on the pivot to either side of the car. a

2. The combination in a double deck passenger car, of a platform at the lower deck, the floor of the upper deck having a central opening therein forming a landing at each side of the opening; a pivoted stairway mounted on a horizontal pivot, the said pivot being located at one side of the center of the platform, the stairway being arranged to swing transversely above the car to either side of the opening in the floor of the upper deck of the car.

3. The combination in a double deck passenger car having a central platform and an opening in the floor of the upper deck directly above the platform; a stairway pivotally mounted on the frame of the car and arranged to be moved to one side or the other of the opening in the floor of the upper deck;

position.

5. The combination in a double deck passenger car, of a platform, thefioor of the upper deck having an opening therein above the platform; a stairway having treads and risers, the stairway being mounted on a longitudinal pivot and arranged to swing from one side of the car to the other; and a pivotally mounted guard arranged to swing to the opposite side of the floor of the upper deck when the stairway is moved.

6. The combination in a double deck passenger car having a centrally arranged platform, the floor of the platform being inclined transversely, the floor of the upper deck having an opening therein above the platform; a pivoted stairway arranged to swing to one side or the other of the car and forming a communication between the lower and the upper decks; a latch for locking the stairway in either of its two positions; and a guard rail projecting above the floor of the upper deck and connected to the stairway so that, when the stairway is shifted from one position to the other, the guard is also shifted so as to close the opening opposite the stairway.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

l/VARREN M. SMITH.

Witnesses:

HENRY C. ESLING, H. F. MoNILLIr.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

